Can you control things in your real life while sleeping and dreaming? A new study claims it is possible. The study authors conducted an experiment during which five participants drove a virtual car while they were lucid dreaming.

When people are aware they’re dreaming, this state is called lucid dreaming. Scientists have been studying this concept for decades, but this is the first time it has been shown that humans can interact with the outside world during a lucid dream. 

“Since the 1980s, scientists have been searching for lucid dream application areas. The current study is the first to demonstrate a method for controlling a car avatar with feedback from lucid dreams,” the study authors note.

Using lucid dreams to send signals

Dutch physician Frederik Willem van Eeden first coined the term lucid dream in 1913, but this concept only rose to popularity in the 1970s when a scientist named Keith Hearne confirmed in lab settings that humans can indeed experience lucid dreams. 

In the following years, numerous papers were published discussing the science behind lucid dreaming. A meta-analysis of many such studies claims that 55 percent of all human beings experience one or more lucid dreams (LD) in their lifetime.

“One of the most fascinating LD applications is the possibility of controlling real-life objects from the dream state. Since 1978, it has been known that people can send signals from LDs. All that remains is to utilize these signals in scenarios to control virtual avatars, gadgets, programs, or real objects,” the study authors said. 

Previous studies suggest people exert some level of control over their environment, behavior, and actions in a lucid dream. This can make it possible to send light or voice signals and even have conversations with people in lucid dreams. 

However, none of those studies achieved two-way object control in lucid dreams. It refers to the ability to interact with and manipulate objects in both directions. 

This means that a person in a lucid dream can control virtual objects, and those virtual objects can also affect or send feedback to the dreamer. Without this ability, one can’t control virtual or real objects while being in a lucid dream, according to the study authors.

Achieving two-way object control in lucid dreams

The current study was conducted by researchers from REMSpace, a startup that is developing technologies aimed at manipulating and harnessing lucid dreaming for the benefit of humans.

During their study, the researchers first trained five participants to control a virtual car (a digital avatar of a Tesla Cybertruck) using special sensors and equipment attached to their bodies. They received this training while they were awake.

In the next step, while the participants were asleep with all the sensors still connected to their bodies, lucid dreams were induced in their REM sleep using visual, audio, or vibrational signals. 

“The participants were to confirm that they were in an LD by making at least three consecutive eye movements to the left and right. After confirming, participants were to control the digital avatar, which was manually activated by the researchers,” the study authors note.

So for instance, when they moved their legs while dreaming, it made the virtual car move, and every time they moved their hands, it served as a signal for the car to take a turn and avoid obstacles in its path. The study authors sent different types of signals in their lucid dreams to make the participants aware of what was in front of them.  

During the experiment, all participants successfully controlled the virtual vehicle for up to several minutes while they were sleeping and dreaming. They drove the car and also responded to the signals and feedback they received (to avoid obstacles), achieving two-way object control.

This experiment opens a new world of possibilities. For instance, in the future, lucid dreams could be used to control smart-home devices, treat anxiety and depression, and perform tasks that are currently beyond human reach.  

“Two-way interaction with a computer from dreams opens up a whole area of new technologies. Now, these developments are crude, but soon they will change the idea of human capabilities,” Michael Raduga, one of the study authors and CEO of REMSpace, said in a press release.

The study is published in the International Journal of Dream Research (IJODR).